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Nebraska Tops Washington, 51-38

By BTN.com staff -
3 years ago

(AP) Taylor Martinez threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and No. 11 Nebraska held off Washington for a wild 51-38 victory on Saturday. Martinez looked to have put away the Huskies with his 6-yard TD run, but Keith Price passed 52 yards to James Johnson for his fourth TD toss to make it a 13-point game with 4:27 left. Nebraska (3-0) won the third meeting of the teams in 364 days. Nebraska won in Seattle last September but lost in a rematch at the Holiday Bowl. The Huskies (2-1) had their six-game winning streak ended. Nebraska’s Rex Burkhead had 120 yards rushing. Read the full AP recap, check out the box score and see our Big Ten scoreboard.

FINAL: Taylor Martinez picked apart Washington’s defense to the tune of 156 passing yards and two touchdowns, helping No. 10 Nebraska to a 51-38 win on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The game was a shootout, with the offensive units for both teams putting up big numbers. Nebraska (3-0) and Washington (2-1) rode their powerful offenses to a combined 884 total yards. The Cornhuskers employed a tough, smash-mouth brand of football and exploited the chinks in the Huskies’ defensive armor. Nebraska used its running game to great effect, as it picked up 308 yards on the ground. Rex Burkhead led the Cornhuskers’ ground attack with 120 yards on 22 attempts. Nebraska’s offense dominated, ripping off huge chunks of yardage. Washington’s defense gave up six plays of at least 20 yards. With 14:52 to go in the first quarter, Martinez found Kenny Bell open for a 50-yard pass, the Cornhuskers’ biggest gain of the game. Later in the drive, Martinez hit Tyler Legate in the endzone from three yards out, which gave Nebraska a 7-0 lead. Keith Price threw for 275 yards while completing 21 of 37 passes for the Huskies. Price tossed four touchdowns and two interceptions. Price had a good connection with receiver James Johnson. He caught six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Washington racked up 420 total yards. The Huskies complemented Price’s passing with 145 yards rushing on 31 attempts.

FOURTH QUARTER: No. 10 Nebraska’s Aaron Green starred in the fourth quarter. He ran for 22 yards and one touchdown and the Cornhuskers kept the game out of reach for a 51-38 victory over Washington. Nebraska added to its advantage when Green turned a handoff into a six-yard touchdown, capping off a nine-play, 86-yard drive to give the Cornhuskers the lead, 44-17. Pass plays were an afterthought for Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers threw just one pass. The Huskies capped off a 32-yard drive when Chris Polk pounded in a two-yard touchdown run to make the score 44-24. Kevin Smith’s big kickoff return put Washington at Nebraska’s 32-yard line to open the drive. The Huskies made the score 44-31 after Keith Price tossed a 10-yard touchdown to James Johnson to finish off a 53-yard drive. The Cornhuskers expanded their lead to 51-31 thanks to five-play, 43-yard drive that ended when Taylor Martinez turned a handoff into a six-yard touchdown. A 52-yard drive that ended when Price found Johnson open for a 52-yard touchdown pass helped Washington narrow the deficit to 51-38. Johnson clinched a 100-yard receiving game with 62 yards in the quarter, part of a six-catch, 108-yard day for the Huskies.

THIRD QUARTER: No. 10 Nebraska ran for 131 yards in the third quarter and the Cornhuskers now lead 37-17. Nebraska has erupted for 20 straight points. The Cornhuskers expanded their lead to 34-17 thanks to 10-play, 56-yard drive that ended when Rex Burkhead turned a handoff into a one-yard touchdown. Nebraska went to the air just one time. The Cornhuskers made their lead 37-17 when Brett Maher made a 28-yard field goal on the last play of a six-play, 31-yard drive. Nebraska’s punt return set the Cornhuskers up at Washington’s 42-yard line to start the drive. Nebraska has possession on the Huskies’ 33-yard line to start the fourth quarter.

SECOND QUARTER: No. 10 Nebraska’s front seven stepped up in the second quarter, allowing Washington to gain just 18 rushing yards, and the margin is still three, as the Cornhuskers lead 20-17. Keith Price’s six-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse gave the Huskies the lead 14-10 after a seven-play, 54-yard drive. Taylor Martinez’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Green gave Nebraska the lead, 17-14, and was the final play of a four-play, 34-yard drive. Ameer Abdullah’s big kickoff return to Washington’s 34-yard line set up the Cornhuskers’ drive with good field position. The Huskies tied the score at 17 apiece after Erik Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal to cap a six-play, 43-yard drive. Washington relied on a run play just one time. Nebraska broke the tie when Brett Maher made a 34-yard field goal to cap off a 10-play, 42-yard drive, giving the Cornhuskers the lead, 20-17. Nebraska ran just two times. The Huskies will have possession to start the second half.

FIRST QUARTER: No. 10 Nebraska picked up 68 yards in the ground game during the first quarter and the Cornhuskers lead 10-7 at the end of the first quarter. Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez threw for 53 yards and one touchdown and ran for 39 yards in the quarter. The Cornhuskers took the game’s first lead after Martinez hit Tyler Legate in the endzone from three yards out on the last play of a two-play, 53-yard drive to give Nebraska the advantage, 7-0. Washington tied the game at seven after Keith Price threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse to end a six-play, 80-yard drive. The Huskies only looked to the running game for two carries. Brett Maher kicked a 45-yard field goal to break the tie and give the Cornhuskers the advantage, 10-7, after a seven-play, 41-yard drive. Washington has the ball on Nebraska’s 10-yard line to begin the second quarter.